


Workman Like Chess

by novella12nite



Category: The Queen's Gambit (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Beth is a gifted witch, Chess, F/M, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, One Shot Collection, Wizard Chess AU, everything is pretty much the same except they're wizards, i did NOT edit this, its kindof cannon-compliant?, no-maj instead of muggles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-13 00:20:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29517999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/novella12nite/pseuds/novella12nite
Summary: A thought occurred to Beth that if there was magic that pawn piece would have been smashed to pieces. In no-maj chess, there was no spectacle to witness, a piece was simply taken off the board. Yet for some reason, the finality of having to watch Benny steal her pawn for himself felt more devastating than him speaking the orders aloud.Takes place during episode 6: AdjournmentWizard Chess AU
Relationships: Beth Harmon/Benny Watts
Comments: 9
Kudos: 18





	Workman Like Chess

When Benny invited her to come to New York, after the U.S tournament she wasn't sure what to expect but it was not this. Apparently, the former wizard chess champion's residence was in the basement of a townhouse apartment where an elderly couple and a family of five lived upstairs. All of his neighbors were apparently no-majs who knew nothing about the wizard community or that their very own tenant was a wizard himself. This was news to Beth who heard stories about the bustling wizard communities within New York City. It was shocking to find the only wizard she knew from this part of town to be completely detached from it. For the first time, Beth saw Benny put his wand away tucked into his sheath and not in his hand or on his hat like he usually places it. Like a king about ready to resign.

"Why live in hiding? " She asked,

Benny shot a glare at her, "I'm not in hiding, this is my life too. Plus no-majes neighborhoods are affordable."

When they entered the apartment Beth assumed he was joking and that his apartment was enchanted to appear like a dingy basement but was actually a hidden gem. She was wrong because the basement apartment looked exactly how a basement apartment would look, dingy and sparse. There was mismatched furniture, peeling walls, and a strange smell that Beth had to hold back a gag. She took one glance at the bathroom and was tempted to use a cleaning spell but figured it was Benny's place and he should clean it. She also expected there would at least be a couch to sleep on, but instead, Benny insisted he said living room and pulled out an air mattress to set up. Before they turned in for the night, Benny stated two rules during her stay at his place.

"There's no booze or magic in the apartment."

"I didn't think there would be." She replied with a shrug.

It was obvious why Benny placed that rule on her. If she had magic she would have access to a drink so that meant to ban both items. What surprised her the most though was how Benny himself didn't bother to use magic in the privacy of his own home. Not once since they arrived did Beth see him cast a spell. It occurred to her that perhaps he was used to living his life without magic. Similar to her, he was probably raised by no-maj people. She wondered if he ever had to conceal his magic so hard it felt like you could burst into a million pieces. It almost did for her. Almost, but she came out okay, and from the looks of Benny it looks like he came out of the other side fine too.

The next day, Beth woke up to the sound of water running and the smell of coffee. Benny was already awake wearing a floral robe and no shirt, he gave her a cheeky grin having caught her gaze, and handed a cup to her. She took the seat across from Benny and skimmed the pages of a worn-out book while he pulled out a chessboard in front of them. He wanted to start reviewing games but she stated she would eat breakfast first. She got up ready to head into the kitchen when she finally noticed something off about the chessboard Benny had on the table. It was not resetting itself.

"Is this a no-maj chessboard?"

Benny did not answer, instead, he started to physically pick up the pieces and returning them to their original squares. Right, no magic in the apartment, that included chess.

Beth picked up a black pawn piece off the board. Curious, she did not sense the usual thrumming of magic whenever picked up a piece. It was just a smooth polished piece of wood.

"You played before?" He asked not looking up.

Beth shook her head, "I've only watched."

The memory of the high school chess club many years ago. That buzzing feeling she got whenever she observed someone move a piece seemed like a faint memory.

"Good, we will still start from the ground up."

At first, the silence unsettled Beth during a game. There were no protests from her pieces or arguments she had to settle. It made her almost miss the whisperings of the pawns, the rooks' mutterings, and the knights' gallant cries for battle. Harry had mentioned that she had a knack for not listening to the board and taking control but this felt like a hollow victory, sitting with the silence. Benny was also rather quiet for the majority of the time they would play a game. Occasionally he would make comments on her move and ask her to provide a rationale for it. He sounded almost like her own king piece from her chessboard who spoke in tangents and spout the history of past battles. But Benny wasn't her king piece, he was her opponent, so in an actual game of no-maj chess, he would be a silent observer waiting for her next move. At times she had to remind herself of that.

This became a routine of sorts for the two of them. Waking up reading about past games, replaying old games, and discussing various moves and tricks. Benny would go on tangents on different Wizard chess champions but also non-wizard chess champions. Many moves like the Sicilian were created by no-majs themselves before they were adapted to wizard chess.

"You know from your tournament experience you can't rely on your opponent setting himself up for a queen sacrifice or a surprise mate with a night and rook..." He would ramble on, "That's who you are. You're bored with ordinary chess even when's it played by the best wizards around the world."

"We're playing serious chess. Workman-like chess. The kind of chess played by the best players around the world, the Soviets. You feel the wins for yourself and your pieces will follow." Benny stated as he took her pawn and replaced it with a knight.

A thought occurred to Beth that if there was magic that pawn piece would have been smashed to pieces. In no-maj chess, there was no spectacle to witness, a piece was simply taken off the board. Yet for some reason, the finality of having to watch Benny steal her pawn for himself felt more devastating than him speaking the orders aloud.

When they were not playing chess or reading Beth helped out a bit with washing dishes, putting mugs away in the cupboard, or taking out the trash. It felt like being in Methuen all over again, having to do chores by hand, except no one was watching her like a hawk suspecting she was a witch or the devil in disguise. This was the longest time Beth ever saw Benny without his wand in hand. Her own wand was safely secured in her coat pocket. Sometimes she would glance at it in the closet and have an inkling to use magic, to turn her glass water into a cup of rum. But the thought was soon dashed the moment she saw Benny reset the board in the other room. The choice to not use magic as a lifestyle was foreign to Beth at first, but she was starting to see the difference in her play. Her mind felt clearer without the pills and the small voices in her head.

One night she discovered a missed strategy in Fine's analysis. She called Benny over and showed him how to win with black. By then she was comfortable picking up the pieces, even using one hand to maneuver them across the board. Benny smiled broadly patting her on the shoulder. His hand lingered for a moment, and she could feel a small jolt of magic radiate at the palms of his hands. On reflex, she touched the back of her neck as she felt the heat rise. Perhaps Benny wasn't as good at concealing magic as she originally thought.

**Author's Note:**

> no-maj= no magic  
> This is a one-shot though that I wrote from episode 6 but in AU where Beth and Benny are actually not just former chess prodigies but gifted in magic too! I wanted to write out this part because it shows Beth comparing playing wizard's chess to no-mag chess.  
> A couple of things I want to state:  
> 1\. Wizard Chess is a little bit different compared to no-maj chess. One of the key differences is that the chessboard can work against or for your favor during a game. Say for example you order a knight to b3. If there is a level of trust, confidence, or charisma (the piece will follow orders). If you lost too many games or not a confident player the knight will refuse to move and that can be a game over. When Beth talks about the silence she's talking about how she's used to verbally announcing her moves when playing wizard chess. Benny is playing workman-like chess teaching her to think like her pieces and make decisions like how the (the pieces) would before they protest.  
> 2\. I'm using the American slang for this au so it is no-mag instead of muggles. It just makes sense to me. Sorry, Beth did not attend Hogwarts in this AU! Ilvermorny on the other hand...  
> 3\. I kinda base this AU on the Fantastic beast series compared to the HP series where hiding your magic from no-maj community was common. Benny having been raised by a non-magical family but born a wizard lives two separate lives. Competing in the Wizard chess tournaments is probably his only attachment to the magic community and the rest of magic he doesn't really bother with it despite being an exceptionally astute wizard.  
> 4\. Beth comes from a magical family but after her mother, Alice died, was raised as a no-maj for a time in Methuen. Her only exposure to performing magic was when she played wizard chess with Mr. Shaibel, so she wasn't fully suppressing it at the orphanage (future one-shot to come). After she got adopted by the Wheatlys (coincidentally a magical family) she was able to attend a magical school and receive a wand.  
>    
> If you have any requests or prompts send them. I'm thinking of making this a series of one-shots and open to writing some! You can also find me on Tumblr with the same username novella12nite :D


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